Rotary powered Brumby

Well I have given up - I just cannot get these brackets to fit no matter what I do - its just too hard for me given that I have no experience doing this sort of thing so its off to the scrap heap................................

NOOOOoooooo Sorry to hear this dude. Is there no chance a bit of outside help might be able to solve the problem?

Oh dear it appears I lost my internet connection before I could finish. What I was going to say was :

They just weren't going to work so I decided to try it a different way and just butt weld the inside edge of the bracket to the firewall. They will be strengthened later with a plate across the join.

SUCCESS :

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Welding looks like crap but it is just the flash showing up every tiny imperfection. It will obviously be finished off properly and will look like it came that way from the factory.

I even put the chassis rails in position, bolted up the crossmember and lower control arms, threw the hubs, strut brace and coilovers on and bugger me it all fits !! Forgot to take photos of that though :(

Unfortunately I now have to go to Christmas Island with work for 4 weeks so nothing will be done for a while but stay tuned.

Awesome! Awesome to the max!

Well its not looking good. The Rotor is 465mm long once you include the gearbox adapter and remove the PS and Air Cond pumps, AND run an Electric Water Pump to get rid of bulky inlets and outlets. I have 500mm from the gearbox to the radiator support panel so that only leaves 35mm to mount a radiator :(

I calculated that at most I could move the gearbox back 25-30mm so I could possibly squeeze a radiator in but would then need to mount the fans in front. But then where would I put the Front Mount Intercooler ??

Also the crossmember isn't really being cooperative and would need major reworking to move the motor back another 50mm. As it is the engine mounts are going to be a pain in the butt without making it more difficult moving the engine back.

Now the Subie motor is only 410mm long including all the front pulleys, leaving a good 90mm for a radiator and fans - which is still a bit tight though. Of course that means I don't have to modify the crossmember or make custom engine mounts etc.

So given my limited fabrication skills I would have to say that the rotary idea is just a bridge too far :(

Of course the fact that I have just bought myself a Liberty RS Turbo wagon has swayed the decision too. I can put all my good bits on the wagon - DCCD gearbox, Brembos, 18's, coilovers, swaybars etc and I still have an EJ22 / 5 speed, 16's, 4 pots etc to go in the Brumby and then maybe in the future when funds are available I can upgrade to STi motor etc for the Brumby. AT least doing it this way keeps the cost and the build time way down.

Come on Niterida you was doing so well, dont be a girl :D
Cant you guys from down under "think outside the box" you need some brit thinking & determination.......do you need all that space out back for dead roos & tinnies??.......stick rad in back behind the cab, ducts where the steps are on the brumbys with the rear facing seats in the back, hot air out the floor.

brit engineering WRX power & running gear in MK1 ESCORT
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Check out how much of a squeeze it is front pipe & front pannel....computer fans on intercooler

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no room for rad up front so he stuck it in the boot vents in rear arches feed air to rad in boot that vents out of boot floor coolant is circulated with a home central heating pump running off a 12v to 240v converter....thats how we get it done over here B)

I'm sure I could make it fit but I'm not interested in running rear mounted radiators or custom crossmembers - I am trying to keep it simple and easy for me to do with my limited skills and equipment.

By sticking to an EJ motor all I have to do is weld the chassis rails back in and then everything will be a direct bolt up fit.

Yea, the rotary thing is nice Idea, but personally the EJ20 was made to fit. using full WRX running gear will make a better project.......This could very well have been done at factory if Subaru had decided to make a mk3 Pickup sport.

On a seperate note the rear suspention towers seem to be a simple enough fix using Impreza waggon rear towers either let in to brumby wheelwell's for a more standard look or replace complete wheelwells with the impreza ones.
Give me a couple of months you concentrate on finishing the front then I should be sorting the back on mine.

Think you are doing the rite thing by going the wrx route......get it finished it can always evolve into the rotary beast later.......most projects are never completely finished, always something else to try.

'Been a while since I've been on here, sorry to see that you're giving up... BUT best of luck with the new direction it's taking.

Like BratWorx says "projects are never really finished" - I wanted a V8 in my '36 Austin but it's had a 4.2 Jag' for the last thirty years. Guess what? This winter it gets an ex TVR Rover lump if the deal goes through... thirty years might be hanging about a bit tho'!

Keep us informed...

I have made a small breakthrough :)

Bolted all the suspension and crossmembers on to the chassis rails and placed the body over the chassis. Now everything looks like it is in the right place until I put a wheel and front guard on only to discover everything is at least 50mm too far forward !!

So I need to move the engine crossmember mounting points back by 50mm on the chassis and I may be able to squeeze the rotor in after all :)

But that also means I need a new floor because the WRX one I was going to use is now going to be 50mm too short at the front :(

Thought something was wrong as this conversion has been done before.
Might be a case of not welding anything fully untill everything is fitted.
Might be benificial to have a WRX handy, like I have, to compare mesurements. Id be tempted to get a complete Impreza shell for reference and its floor.
Then you will have a set of rear strut towers ready to fit later.
Bit concerned that using complete floor as you have might throw up problems like when you fit seats find that they slightly too far apart and hit doors due to difference in width between wrx & brat.

The floor only had about 15mm trimmed off either side and I am using one-piece racing buckets so the width will be fine :)

As for using a WRX for reference - there is no need as everything is bolting into place as it would in relation to each other anyway, except for the front strut towers - but I have camber and caster adjustable strut tops to take care of that.

Small update !!

Decided rotary motor was too much hassle and has been sold (at a small profit:) )

So tack welded the chassis rails on. Put an EJ22 engine and gearbox on the crossmembers, added a front hub, coilover and wheel (with 215/60/16 Outback sized tyre!!) and dropped the body over once again.
Bugger me if it didn't fit perfectly using the exisitng crossmember mounting holes on the Brumby chassis. Wheel sits perfectly central and the WRX floor is OK to use as well. Woohoo :)

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Hi Niterida.....glad to see progress B) top Idea throw a 2.2 in get it built when its up & running be a piece of cake to stick a ej20 turbo or even go back to the rotary Idea.
My plans are held up work is crazy at the mo, building a workshop, but nowere on the scale of yours to piece together my wrx truck......plus blew the bottom end of the Trackday WRX....grippy yoko's, coilovers, 4pots with bluestuff pads + 2 unhinged drivers = oil surge leading to bottom end failure at Snetterton :(
on the lookout for another cheep WRX for its lump plus other parts im missing for the wrx truck or If my fellow loonie decides to trackday his Evo 4 then will use the trackday wrx as a doner & rebuild the CDB engine this time with a baffled sump.